The Broken Road
by Clark Luthor 322
Summary: Kristen Baxter is a girl struggling to keep her job raise a two year old son and go to college with the help of her parents and her younger sisters, Trent Pearson is a guy who's struggling with life in general, but what happens when Mike hires him as the new gunsmith at Outdoor Man will Kristen be able to open her heart and will Trent be able to finally get rid of his demons.
1. Chapter 1

An old 1985 Jeep cuts through the cool Autumn air as is coast over a hill into the city of Denver behind the wheel a young man in his early 20's with short buzz cut dark brown hair and soft baby blue eyes, a dark 5 o'clock shadow covers his well-defined chin his eyes droopy and red indicating that he had been driving for most of the night. his lean muscular build is covered by a light grey t-shirt gray cargo pants that looked just a little wrinkled and disheveled a pair dark brown combat boots that look like they'd walked many miles and a dark blue Dallas Cowboys baseball cap that had seen better days covers his buzzcut hair. He looks over the ridge at the city of Denver the Mile-High City.

He can't help but look out at the majestic mountain landscape with the large looming mountains almost hazy blue in color with large corporate skyscrapers that jut out from the ground trying to match the mountains in sheer height. A small smile creeps across his face he had been on the road for months and seen many places and done many things he had been running from a lot of things for a long time. But he can't help but think maybe this could be the place he could finally call home a place where his past could stay in the past and he could have a new life with new friends and new opportunities. So, he floors the gas sending the Jeep down the ridge and into the city of Denver not knowing what's in store for him over the next few months.

Meanwhile across town Kristen Baxter walks into Chauncey's dinner as the early morning sun has made its way into the sky she quickly bends down to tie her shoes and looks around at the bustling diner with local and out of town patrons alike enjoying their first meal of the day the load sounds of the grill and the cursing of the grill cook many can be heard towards the back. She just sighs pulling herself to her feet just in time to hear the pickup bell ring she quickly walks over to the window and picks up the food carrying it to the waiting customer at the counter with the best fake smile she can muster up she hands him the plate of food and a napkin before leaning against the counter with a gentle sigh.

This had become her normal routine for the last 2 years since she had Boyd. Now she wasn't mad at Boyd by any means or even upset about getting pregnant at 17. Having Boyd was one of the best things that had ever happened to her and he was the most important thing in her world. But she just couldn't help but think could things be better she was living with her parents and her two younger sisters all of whom she loves to death. But things could get a little crowded in a house full of people add a baby into the mix and it made you realize how small things really are. Then there was her job at the dinner don't get her wrong she was glad that Chauncey had offered the struggling Mom the job right out of high school.

But being a waitress had its drawbacks it didn't pay all that great mostly relying on tips to survive it was also tiring not to mention that many nights she came home smelling of French fries and meat loaf which in its self was enough to make her sick to her stomach. She had envisioned herself doing so much more after High School but as she had learned life loves to throw you a curve ball every once in a while, and sometimes you just have to role with the punches. Not to mention her boyfriend at the time Ryan had run for the hills upon hearing of her pregnancy she hadn't seen him in almost two years.

She just needed something to go right in her life for once she dreamed of one day being swept of her feet by a kind decent good-looking guy who would accept her and Boyd for who they were warts and all. She rolls her eyes chuckling to herself that stuff only happens in the movies and those cheesy Nicolas Sparks books her Mom had been known to read from time to time. She was quickly brought out of her daze by a gentle tap on her shoulder it was Manny signaling her that there were orders to be picked up, so she quickly walks over sorting out the plates pushing those thoughts away for another day.


	2. Chapter 2 You Had Me from Hello

**Hey ya'll sorry for the delay on the new chapter to be honest I didn't think anyone was really interested in it at first but with some prying from an regular follower of my work War Sage I finally decided to begin writing this story again this chapter isn't very long and for that I do apologize but I will be uploading more soon I hope you guys will enjoy them..**

 **Chapter 2 You had me from Hello**

The young man eventually pulls up at Chauncey's shutting his Jeep of before steeping out into the cool autumn breeze. He walks up to the front door of the dinner and opens it walking in letting the warm heat from the dinner wash over him as he finds his way to a corner booth out of the way of everyone. He is gently sliding into the booth when Kristen sees him from her spot at the waitress station, she walks over putting on her best smile he was an out of towner which means this could be her chance for a good tip for once.

"Good morning can I get you something to drink?" Kristen asks flashing him her best fake smile as she gently places a menu in front of him "Black coffee while be fine cut some of the chill." He says jokingly rubbing his hands together he can't help but notice the rings around her eyes noticing just how tired Kristen really was. "Coming right up." Kristen says walking back over the waitress station grabbing a coffee cup and filling it looking back over at him taking in his appearance his shirt and pants were wrinkled and his hat was faded and looked like it had seen better days. Although she had to admit he did have this rugged handsomeness about him.

She walks over handing him his coffee "There you go figure out what you want?" Kristen says flashing him a genuine smile for once

"Yeah let me get bacon eggs and a few pieces of toast." He says taking in her smile theirs was just something about his smile that was just holding his attention. "Hungry huh, wait I'm sorry that was wrong." She says frowning slightly leaning against the booth "Its ok just got off the road so I'm kind of hungry." He says smiling back at her letting her know it was ok "Well let me go put that in for you." Kristen says smiling walking over and handing the order to the line cook before going back to wiping down the table she was working on before he came in "Hey theirs an extra 5 in it for you if you join me." Trent says smiling at her holding his cup of coffee up to his face taking a sip

"Um well I'd love to but I'm kind of busy right now." Kristen says rolling her eyes as she holds up her rag "Well the way I see it you don't have any other customers and it gives you an excuse to get off your feet, and you'd be providing great customer service.." Trent says smiling as he motions to the empty dinner minus her and him "Well I guess your right and I'd hate to give bad customer service." Kristen says setting her rag down before walking over sitting down across from him "I'm Trent." He says holding his hand out smiling "Kristen, oh wait you probably already knew that." Kristen giggles looking down at her name tag "it's all good" Trent says smiling leaning back in his seat "So what brings you to Denver?" Kristen asks curiously folding her hands together "Well I'm just looking for a change of scenery you know." Trent says taking another sip of his coffee

"Wait how did you know I wasn't from Denver?" Trent asks curiously "Well you're wearing a cowboy's hat; I don't know that much about football, but I know that's a dangerous move in a Denver Broncos town. "Well wouldn't be the first time this hat got me into trouble." Trent chuckles. Before long they fall into a comfortable rhythm Kristen found out Trent was in the Army and spent a couple of years in the infantry in Iraq. He'd gotten out a few years ago and had been traveling around working odd jobs until something lead him to Denver. In return Trent found out that Kristen had just graduated high school in the last year and had a two-year-old son from a boyfriend she had in High School.

They talked for what seemed like forever both just enjoying talking to someone they could relate to. But unfortunately, before long the dinner started to fill up again." Well this had been fun but unfortunately I gotta get back to work." Kristen says smiling at him not noticing when she gently placed his hand on her arm "It's alright I'll have to say this is the best customer service I've ever gotten." Trent says smiling as he takes his receipt and hands her a 10.00 "No I can't take that its way too much." Kristen says trying to hand it back to him "Nah keep it, it was worth it for the conversation." Trent says getting up from the booth "I'll see you around Kristen." He says smiling as he walks to the door but not before turning to take one last look at her.

He walks out to his jeep opening the door and piling inside he starts up the car and is placing the receipt in the cup holder when he sees some writing on the back reflected in the light. He turns it around and finds a note written in cursive on the back 'Thanks for the break my feet appreciate it, if you ever need anyone to talk to call me.' with her number written under it "Looks like Denver might actually work out." He smiles placing the receipt in his pants pocket before pulling out of the dinner parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3 Fire Away

**Hey guys The Broken Road lives I just want to apologize for taking forever to get this new chapter up I know I'm not the best at updating but I was having trouble getting the muse to strike but here we are and here we go, as I'm sure you can tell all of my chapter titles are taken from country songs that I listen to while writing these chapters that I think pair well with the chapter this time my song was Fire Away by Chris Stapleton feel free to play it while you read to get the full affect I got while writing this hope ya'll enjoy**

 **The Broken Road**

 **Chapter 2 Fire Away**

It was a warm muggy day in the desert town of Fallujah as a Humvee rips through the desert sands inside the vehicle a slightly younger Trent sits in the passenger seat a much older man with dark black skin and short buzz cut hair sits in the drivers seat 2 others just a few years his senior one a Asian guy with a flat top the other a Latino female her hair pulled up in a bun sit in the back seat of the Humvee joking and laughing.

"Alright you knuckle heads cut it out were on assignment intelligence says Malsafa is in this fucking sandbox town and we gotta find him before he hurts more of our boys." The black guy the last name Dawkins printed on his uniform growls as they pull into a small desert town looking around at all the deserted buildings things were eerily quiet. Tensions in the area had been at an all-time high and the young soldiers in the Humvee were nervous to say the least as they get out and pick up their guns their heads on the swivel for any sign of a threat. "Alright come on boys were going house clearing looking for this asshole."

"We cleared anyone that was a friendly weeks ago the only people left in this hell hole are Charlie's (enemy soldiers) and should be treated as such." Dawkins says taking a battering ram from the back of the Humvee walking over to where the young soldiers are gathered in front of the Humvee as sand clouds swirl around them "Well lets just get this done this place gives me the creeps Sarge." Trent says looking around at the empty streets of the once bustling town he had a bad feeling in his gut not that he would tell anyone in his group not wanting to make them any more nervous than they already were he just shrugs it off taking a sip from his canteen the hot muggy desert heat beating down on his neck causing him to sweat bullets "Yeah Texas is right I don't like how quiet it is." The Latina female says looking around for any sign of movement around them ready for whatever might happen next.

"Come on you pussies let's just get this done then we can head back to base and get a cold shower and beers on me." Dawkins says tossing the battering ram over his shoulder walking over to the first house on the crowded square the 3 young soldiers follow the Sargent getting into position in front of the front door getting ready to breach the house not seeing the older middle eastern man sitting in a snipers position on one of the buildings down the street pointing his rifle out the window as he watches the young soldiers with a smirk adjusting his bourka and placing his rifle into position.

Dawkins gives the men a hand signal as they lean forward towards the door. "Breach Breach Breach!" He shouts slamming the object into the door opening it with a loud angry thud as Dawkins and Trent make their way inside the Asian walking in next the Latina about to make her way inside when a shot rings out the next thing Trent remembers is Cruz the young Latina that he had grown to care deeply for over the last few months getting hit by a bullet in the neck blood pouring from the wound as the other men shout and cuss attempting to pull the young female into the house out of harms way as more shots ring out hitting the side of the door and walls of the house.

Trent is able to pull Cruz into the house as a bullet hits his helmet knocking it off his head and onto the ground as he moves to lean against one of the walls inside the small brick home cradling Cruze's body in his arms "I never got to tell you this but I love you." He whispers as a deep numb feeling overcomes him sobbing as he blinks away the tears in his eyes as all hell breaks loose around him the sound of shots still ringing out his Sargent on the radio and Chang firing back from cover at the unseen sniper.

Suddenly the screaming and shouting fades into the distance he blinks again and he's back in the reclining chair of his barely furnished apartment. He looks over at the US Army flag mounted on the wall behind his small tv before looking down at his phone in his lap. He scrolls through until he finds Kristen's number that she had given him the week before after their conversation at the diner. He had debated on calling her not wanting to saddle a girl that had her own problems with the inner demons that came back out of the dark to plague him from time to time.

He reaches over and picks up a bottle of whiskey sitting on the table beside his chair and opens it taking a long swig from the jet black bottle before slamming it down on the table wiping his mouth with the back of his hand starting to feel the warm comforting effects of the alcohol wash over his body like a wave on the ocean. He looks at the time on his phone and notices its 5:03 AM he knew Kristen would be getting up for work right about now remembering from their previous conversation, that she helped open the diner on Thursday morning he clicks the send button before placing the phone to his ear.

Meanwhile Kristen had just finished putting her uniform on the darkness outside gleaming through the window painting the room in a soft glow the whole house dead silent with everyone still asleep she sighs walking over and looking at Boyd sleeping in his toddler bed. She was ready to get this shift over with so that she could take him to the park their favorite Thursday afternoon activity after she got off. She knew she'd be tired, but it would be worth it to get to see the smile on the young toddlers face watching him run through the grass chasing butterflies and giggling. She gently runs her hand through his soft blond hair kissing him on the head just as her phone starts to vibrate in her apron pocket she takes it out and sees a Texas number she didn't recognize she figures it was Trent calling she hadn't talked to him since their conversation at the diner the week before.

She had enjoyed talking to him for the first time in a long time since Boyd had been born she enjoyed having a chance to pretend just for a minute that she wasn't a teen Mom with a GED but just a girl talking to a cute guy no worries cares or responsibilities in the world Trent made her feel not so invisible anymore. She smiles picking up the phone placing it to her ear. "Well good morning Mr. Pearson and to what do I owe this early morning phone call?" Kristen says smiling a slight blush in her cheeks thankful he wasn't able to see her right now "Well it just occurred to me that I never did call you after our conversation the other week and that to me is down right rude, with my Momma raising me to be the good little East Texas boy I am wouldn't like that very much." Trent says smiling into the phone the sound of her voice soothing him like it had the week before at the diner he'd be lying if he said he wasn't attracted to the soft gentle tone of her voice.

"Well we wouldn't want that would we, so how are you did you happen to find a job yet?" Kristen asks placing the phone against her shoulder as she grabs her car keys and jacket kissing Boyd on the head before creeping out of the room and out to her car her voice low and soft trying not to wake any of the other Baxter's on her way out "Unfortunately no the V.A's been trying to get me into a job placement program but there's a lot of hoops to jump through with paperwork, I mean I fought enemy insurgents across all different parts of Iraq and Afghanistan but the paperwork the V.A gives you to fill out will even scare the most hardened soldier to death." He chuckles leaning back in his chair thinking back to the large stack of paperwork 15 pages long the lady at the VA office had given him.

"Wow that really sucks I'm sorry I can't imagine what that must be like." Kristen says shaking her head as she closes the front door behind her and walks down the driveway through the cool early morning air pulling her jacket closer to her as she gets into her car she truly felt bad for Trent one thing her dad had taught her was that soldiers like Trent give up a lot to help keep their country safe and the fact that he had gotten home safely just to run into these issues made her feel for him she puts her key in the ignition attempting to start her car only to hear it turn over but not start.

She immediately curses trying in vein to start the car only getting the same result all the while thinking it just had to be today of all days her car wouldn't start. "Kristen you alright?" Trent asks leaning forward in his chair rubbing his face hearing the irritation and desperation in her voice causing him to want to spring into action "Yeah it's my stupid car it won't start and I have to get to the diner, its early so I don't want to go wake up my parents but I can't get the car to start.." The young waitress says slamming her hand down on the steering wheel in frustration.

"Well I'll tell you what I'll trade you a ride for a cup of coffee." Trent says smiling wanting to help the young Mom get to work because he knows she needs the help and he's more than happy to give it to her.

"It's ok Trent I don't want to inconvenience you; I'll figure something out." Kristen says not wanting to inconvenience him by making him come all the way to the other side of town just to pick her up "Trust me Kristen its no trouble besides I'd rather continue our conversation in person anyway, so you sit tight and I'll see you soon." Trent says smiling as he gets up from his chair walking over to the front door of his apartment grabbing his cowboy's hat keys to his jeep and his old faded army hoodie heading out the door.

Kristen thanks him before hanging up and leaning back against the front seat of the old Honda smiling a stray tear trickles down her cheek nobody other than her family had been this nice to her since she had Boyd. What she didn't know at the time was the car would eventually get fixed, but this would be the first of many early morning car rides from Trent over the next few months.


End file.
